399) INXS - Listen Like Thieves

I am not really a TV person I watch the odd series, but I don’t watch the television for the sake of watching like some people do. The only time is usually between Christmas and New Year, sadly I am too old to go out every night, so I try to find something.

A few Christmases ago Mystify: Michael Hutchence was on BBC2, I was no fan, liked the odd song but why not give it a go. If you have never seen it, you should, it’s excellent. It follows Hutchence life from childhood right through to his death, his bandmates are involved and there are home movies throughout. There is one major thing that happened in his life that changed the way he was completely, I felt sorry for him. I’ll not spoil it. Let’s also not forget that idiot Noel Gallagher calling him a has been on an awards show, always a classless man.

I first became aware of INXS during Live Aid where they were broadcast from Australia, I thought they were not bad and promptly forgot all about them before Need You Tonight seduced the world.

Just before all of that they started to breakout across the world with Listen Like Thieves, their fifth album.

Lead single What You Need was seemingly recorded after the record was finished as they were told there was no hit, well they delivered a superior funk based song with some excellent sax from Kirk Pengilly but for me even better than that is the title track, the guitars are harder and an excellent imaginative bass as Hutchence shows he can deliver rock front man like it’s a walk in the park.

Kiss the Dirt keeps the quality up and the band and Hutchence decide to step it up for the last minute and a half and it works a treat.

Shine Like It Does is superior ballad territory with an edge and thereafter although worth a listen Good and Bad Times, Biting Bullets, One X One, Same Direction (although this has some good guitar moments) are not essential

This Time starts almost demo like before the band follow Hutchence, but the verses and music stand out more than the chorus and instrumental Three Sisters is a nice change of direction.

Red Red Sun is an interesting end with guitars underpinning the track, all of the band working hard and that’s exactly what INXS were a band, and a pretty good one at that. 

Michael Hutchence has, scarily, been dead nearly thirty years, he is rightly remembered.

6.75/10

GIVE IT A STREAM: Listen Like Thieves